Hamburger press



June 30, 1959 c. s. GLENNY- 7 2,892,211

HAMBURGER PRESS Filed Jan. 11. 1957 i z 5 Pg; Fm 5 "1 10 g m mww m [fin/W1 CLARENCE S. GLENNY Glenny, l lockford'y lll' 'assiglior to Tlie -Wash- I burn Company, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts This invention relates to a utensil for use in forming ground meat into hamburger patties and has for its principal object the provision of a ring body of the correct diameter in relation to hamburger bun size, mounted on a handle for easier holding and better control of operation and designed to slidably support a disk inserted in either of two positions for the molding of a thick or a thin patty, according to the position of the disk, the patties being easily removable from the ring with the disk by pressure on the back of the disk.

In the present design an annular inwardly projecting bead is formed in the sheet metal of the ring body in a predetermined spaced relation to the opposite sides of the ring so that when the disk is supported on one side of the bead a shallower recess is afforded to accommodate a thin patty, whereas when the disk is supported on the other side of the bead a deeper recess is provided to accommodate a relatively thick patty, the bead also defining an annular groove on the outer periphery of the ring in' which a wire ring frame for attachment of the ring body to the handle is seated.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a hamburger press made in accordance with my invention, a portion of the disk being broken away to show the bead therebeneath, and a portion of the handle being broken away and shown in section to show the supporting shank of the ring frame which has a press fit in the handle;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1, showing the utensil set for use in making thick patties;

Fig. 3 is a full cross-section in the plane of the line 2-2 but showing the ring reversed and the disk supported on the other side of the bead for making thin patties, and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of Fig. 1.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in these views.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral 5 designates a ring formed from a single strip of sheet metal, the opposite ends of which are joined together by a seam at 6 in a conventional manner. An annular inwardly projecting bead 7 is formed in the ring for the purpose of defining annular shoulders at 8 on the inside at different distances from the opposite sides of the ring, as indicated by the smaller dimension a in Fig. 2 and the larger dimension b in Fig. 3, while at the same time providing an annular groove 9 in the outer periphery of the ring in which to accommodate with a tight fit a wire ring frame 10 for supporting the ring 5 on a handle 11. The spaced, substantially radial, outwardly projecting end portions 12 of the wire 10 have their extremities 13 offset inwardly toward one another and welded together, as indicated at 14, to define a resilient and slightly compressible shank adapted to be pressed into an axial bore 15 provided therefor in the inner end of the handle 11 for the rigid support of the ring 5 on the handle. The opposite sides of the ring 5 have rounded edges by reason of the Un ted S ts? Patent? 2,892,21 1 Patented June 30,1959

clirling'c'ifthe edge portionsfdf' the ring, as indicated at -16,"so that there arenoraw edges left: exposed, hence,

nothingtofscratch or cutthe' hands when usingthe-utensil In operation, a sheet metal disk 17, which is disposed in the ring 5 and is of approximately the same diameter as the conventional hamburger bun, is inserted with a snug sliding fit into the ring on either side of the bead 7 to be used in forming either a thin patty, as indicated at A in Fig. 3, when the shallower recess associated with the smaller dimension a is used or a relatively thick patty, as shown at B in Fig. 2, when the deeper recess associated with the larger dimension b is used. The patties can be made quite uniform in either thickness and one gets four of the thicker patties B out of one pound of ground meat, and eight of the thinner patties A out of one pound of ground meat. A spatula or the like may be used in filling the utensil evenly for either thickness of patty, and then the ring 5 is turned over by means of handle 11 and pressure is applied to the back of the disk 17 to remove it with the patty from the ring, whereupon the patty may then be easily stripped off the disk with the spatula directly into the frying pan. There are no crevices in which food or filth might collect, and hence it is an easy matter to keep the press clean and sanitary. The close sliding fit of the disk 17 in the ring 5 eliminates any likelihood of the disk falling out when the utensil is not in use, and hence there is no danger of the disk being lost or mislaid by reason of being separated from the utensil, and, since it remains an assembled part of the utensil, it is in no danger of becoming bent or battered by contact with other heavier utensils, and the utensil always remains in good shape and ready for instant use. While this utensil was designed primarily as a hamburger press it should be clear that it is not limited to that specific use. Utensils made along these same lines could be used for forming patties of any plastic food or other material.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. A utensil of the character described comprising in combination, a sheet metal ring-shaped body of substantially uniform width and having an annular inwardly projecting bead provided therein, said bead defining on the inside of the ring body an annular shoulder, a disk having a close sliding fit in said ring body and adapted to be supported on said shoulder, whereby to define with said disk a recess in said ring body for use in the making of patties of plastic food or other material, the patties being expellable from said ring body with said disk, said bead forming an annular groove in the outer periphery of said body and the edge portion of said ring body defining the entrance thereto being curled outwardly to define a rounded edge so that the entrance is flared and entry of said close fitting disk is facilitated, a wire ring frame fitting in and extending completely around said annular groove for-support of said ring body and having an operating handle extension, and an elongated handle having an axial bore provided in one end thereof in which said handle extension of said wire ring frame is engaged.

2. A utensil of the character described and as defined in claim 1 wherein the opposite edge portions of said ring body are curled outwardly to define rounded edges establishing respectively oppositely disposed flared entrances to said ring body, and said annular inwardly 'ringfra'me is defined by spaced substantially'parallel s. end portions of said wire of appreciable length;"tl 1e'o1'1ter extremities of which are secured" together, said'spaced portions being resilient and compressible toward each other in the insertion of said handle extension into the bore in said handle.

References Cited in tlle file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Morse et al; Nov. 27, 1877 Eustis May 31, 1892 Altman July 24, 1923 Oestermeyer .Nov, .8, 1955 

